The Mother Hunt
by Paz
Summary: Haruka and Michiru in the early 30's?? Haruka a detective? Michiru a widowed heiress? Setsuna a genius? Weirdness in abundance.
1. Default Chapter

Author's Notes: I do not own any of the characters of Sailor Moon, nor is this plot mine. It is based off of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novels. This one of course being called the Mother Hunt. I'm ripping people off left and right. No originality here. 

The Mother Hunt

I

Under normal circumstances today would have been a good day to play hooky. I would have been overjoyed to have gone and played around with the boys but I have ethics. I have a job and for the moment I was contemplating how to attack it. Bright days like this don't bring around many customers. You see I make my living off the misfortunes of others. It sounds rather rough but it is the honest to God truth. I'm not a bad person. It's my employer you have to look out for.

My profession, as I like to call it, is as a private eye, a detective, and a brain for hire. I live and work out of a sturdy old brownstone in the city, not a bad place for a street urchin to end up. I cannot take credit for my worldly possessions since I have none and a little extravagant for my tastes. No, they all belong to my boss who is a super genius, a real piece of work – Meiou Setsuna. She's a top grade detective, the sort that doesn't need to leave to comforts of home to solve a case. Why bother when you have me, Tenoh Haruka, to run errand and drive a hot yellow roadster.

Together my eccentric boss and I run our business/home along with our extended staff. They make living with Setsuna bearable. First and foremost is Kino Makoto, our delightful cook. She's a tall brunette with a punch that could lay a good man flat. I've seen it myself and have been very tender towards her since. Without her ministrations we would starve to death; I know very little about cooking and Setsuna would never stoop to prepare her own meals. She's a good one to have around in a pinch too. I'd marry the girl if it was legal and she'd have me. Now I'm just partial to flirting with her. Our other tenant is Mizuno Ami, another genius just not of the social kind. She and Setsuna get along like two peas in a pod, two strange and funny peas. Ami is small, smaller than the rest of us with blue hair and eyes to match. She's a little wet behind the ears but that's what makes her endearing. She has a lab on the top floor where she also sleeps. The two of them up there like Dr. Frankenstein and Igor have me a little worried but I know that Ami would never do anything that would bring us trouble. That's four women in one house, working and living side by side. Sure we get on each other's nerves now and again but that is what makes living here a kick. Without them I would have probably left Setsuna years ago. Then again it was a cushy job. 

Except for now. As a part of my job description I pick up groceries, find the whosawhatits, and balance the books. I'm no dummy and know how to keep a good house running. I had been doing so for over five years. And now as I looked at my figures my eyebrows twitched (something I had picked up from Setsuna among others). By no means was it cheap to keep four people living comfortably even in a run down shack. Imagine my chagrin when I realized we didn't have much time before we were dry, with the expenses to three other detectives for their services, the ghastly electric bill Ami and Setsuna had run up, basic utilities, and of course our weekly allowances. Right now we were fine and when things are fine it leaves a lot of room for Murphy and his law to come in and bust things up. We needed a client; we needed one in a hurry. 

I admit under no duress that Meiou Setsuna earns the exuberant fees she charges. Her only problem is that she dislikes people in general. Persons she can deal with - people on whole she would much rather do without. That's not to say that she doesn't have a heart, she has one. In fact she is the godmother of Chiba Mamoru's daughter ChibiUsa. Cute kid but too much like her mother. But one of the set backs of working as a detective is that you only scrape the bottom of the cultural pool. We deal with CEO's and their mistresses, the blue-collar man wanting to have his cheating wife caught in the act and mostly people in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's hard work doing one's job and still have faith in the human race. Only now a little tragedy wouldn't hurt. The hitch was getting Setsuna to take a job. 

Setsuna was the sort that needed prodding, not the nudging of a concerned co-worker but the forked prong that saw fit to keep living in the luxuries it was accustomed to. She would stay up all day in that lab if she wanted but she had a strict schedule to adhere to.

At seven in the morning Makoto brought her breakfast in her immense maroon bed and she read the paper in her garnet nightie. At nine she would have bathed, gotten dressed, put on her lab coat and gone to work with Ami. What they talk about and do is anyone's guess. Makoto seems to think that they're trying to raise the dead which is all and good for her because the dead don't eat. She's up there until eleven when she takes the elevator down to the main floor. Why we had an elevator when we had perfectly good stairs I didn't know. It had been there since I arrived. The hypothesis, as Makoto kids, is that the three flights of stairs- the top being the lab, bedrooms in the middle, main floor and basement where Makoto stayed- simply took too much time. 

By eleven she was down going over the list of needs sorted by Makoto. Setsuna merely looked them over for she could not tell one item for another. She had never been kitchen savvy. When Makoto went on vacation we ate out. When an appliance broke it could have fooled Setsuna because she had no need for it. She relied on us to get it done for her. We didn't mind. She paid us well and we got to say we worked for a genius. Still Setsuna checked it over gave Makoto a smile and curt nod, which meant 'bring the tea,' and by eleven fifteen she was in the office where I at my desk would wait. 

Being the sort of girl that I am, I do not mind spending the better part of my day with a beautiful woman. Setsuna, tall with flowing green hair past her waist, smoldering garnet eyes and a tan that any Californian would risk skin cancer for was one of the better looking women I had the pleasure of knowing. And that was the problem. I knew her. I may not know the exact location in Japan where she was born but it was Japan. I may not know her parents but I knew she had them. I may not know why she was on the streets that cold November night when she took me in but here I am. She always knew the time down to the millisecond. She was always right, always. She reveled in mystery. She'd wait to the last minute to tell you something you've waited all day to hear. She would ignore and vex, lure and shove all at the same time. Some clients liked it but they didn't have to live with her. All this in one very nice package. However, when that nice package should be taking cases and earning money to supply my needs I get a little antsy. 

I, on the other hand, liked things in a come as you please fashion. A full-fledged tomboy I cut my sandy locks short like a man, wore tailored suits and looked pretty damn good. Yeah I have an ego but all the girls at the Sandpiper Club can't be wrong. Most of our clients mistook me as a man when the first walked it. That really never bothered me but it did get some blushing from the women clients who had made passes at me. I never said that I was a man and sometimes knowing that made the girls go for me even more. But that's enough about me, for now at least. 

As I had said before it was a fine day for playing hooky but instead I chose to get mail and place it on Setsuna's broad cherry wood desk. Thankfully there were no bills in that pile but they were on their way. That complete I went to my desk off to side a good five feet from hers near the wall where Einstein stared down at me from his portrait. Because I am so humble my desk is considerately smaller than hers. There I sat in my dark blue suit, gold shirt adorned with my tie/handkerchief combo going over the books when at eleven fifteen Setsuna came to join me, on the dot.

She sat calm and dignified in her maroon two piece dress with a bow dead center of her chest. Makoto in her usual maid getup and apron set down the tea before disappearing into the front room with a conspiring wink at me. I decided that now was the time to make my move.

I pulled out my notebook from my pencil drawer, scribble on it neatly, tore it loose and folded it twice. I then got up, straightened my suit and strode purposely to the desk. Setsuna was about to lay into another book Christine de Pizan's_ The Book of the City of Ladies _when I placed the darling note in front of her. With a click of my heels I spun away back to my corner of the room. From there I did my best not to whistle happily. 

"Haruka." Her voice was gentle, always even when she was upset. Mores the pity we just wouldn't work out. "What is the meaning of this?"

I had been staring into the books when she called me so I reared up. "What is the meaning of what?"

She held up my love note between two of her fingers. "This note. What is it? Not another resignation notice I hope."

I must remind myself not to threaten to quit so often. She might not take me seriously when I say it the next time. "I can't tell you. It might ruin your surprise."

Her eyes crinkled dangerously. "You know how I feel about surprises. What is in the note?"

"Nuh-uh. Open it first and then I'll explain the rules." Now you see all the work I have to do just to get her to open a letter. Try getting her on a case. 

With a shake of her head I head the word 'juvenile' and she finally opened the note. The funny thing about the strange and intelligent was that sometimes they missed the whole picture noticing only the obvious. 

"Haruka, it says September twenty-seventh. It is only September fourteenth. Have you no need for the calendar I bought you?"

Ah, sweet genius at its best. Leaning back in my chair I grinned. "I have the calendar and thank you. I especially like the choo-choo trains." She wrinkled her nose showing her displeasure at my banter. "And before you suggest that I relearn my numbers let me say that it was not a chronological error. No that, my intuitive employer, is the day that the ark will sink and two by two the animals evacuate."

She never cared for my euphemisms so she ignored them. "Evacuate? We have animals?" Setsuna paused in thought or to listen for clattering whichever of the two. "No, certainly not."

"When I mentioned animals I meant ourselves. As far as I know Makoto hasn't taken in any strays."

"Lower your voice! She might hear you and get it into her head. Then what would I do? I cannot work with animals scurrying around my feet." Her left hand wadded up my note into a ball and threw it into her wastebasket while her right delicately took her teacup- pinkie extended. "Now explain this idea of vacating and try to do so without your usual swill for wit."

It was almost poetic so I wasn't sore. "What I was getting at through subtlety and fun, is that is the day when we collectively will be broke. We haven't had a client for a week maybe two and we are spending it like no tomorrow. I figure that at this rate the twenty-seventh was when we'd all go like carolers and peddle."

Setsuna chuckled into her cup before setting it down. She would have hated to have spilt that tea on her nice dress. "I do not peddle. Never have. Never will. You honestly think we will fall so far as to be reduced to begging for alms? We would starve, you and I. Humility we possess for others but for ourselves we have none. I am too stubborn and you are far too arrogant."

I hated it when she made valid points like that, but I traveled the set path. She would not shake me so easily. 

"Then you will take a client?" I asked hopefully. "The very next one who comes into the vestibule?"

She twitched. If there was anything Setsuna hated more than having to work it was being pressured to do so. She was going to try and weasel out of it.

"Haruka."

"No. No more Haruka. We need to eat. We need to live well. If I let you have you way you would do experiment after experiment letting everything you've worked for go to waste. You brought me here for the sole purpose of nagging you and that's what I'm doing. I am nagging you." During my speech I had gotten up and marched towards her desk. At my closing I had crossed my arms and dared her to say no. 

Further attempts at procrastinating were put on hold as the doorbell rang. Our eyes locked. Makoto went to answer the door. 

"Well?"

She squirmed. "Oh, all right. But on my terms."

I skipped and hopped to my corner a champion. It was then that I noticed Makoto standing in the doorway leading into the hall. She looked rather cheerful. 

"A Mrs. Tomoe Soishi to see you, Setsuna-san."

And there stood the most breath-taking woman I had ever laid eyes on. 


	2. Introducing Mrs Tomoe Soichi

II

Mrs. Tomoe Soichi was not really Mrs. Tomoe Soichi. That was the name of her late husband and she took it because tradition said so. Her real name was Kaiou Michiru, a virtuoso at the age of four. She had composed concertos for the violin, painted surreal portraits and earned fame and fortune. Any bum on the streets, myself included knew her family. You couldn't drive down the street without seeing something dedicated to them or by them. The Kaiou Children's Museum, The Kaiou Gallery, and Kaiou Construction, just to name a few. Together her parents had built her a vast empire of wealth but when she turned sixteen they decided that their daughter should pursue her life as an artist and gave it to her first cousin Akira. Akira would manage and she would rake in the cash. However by the age of eighteen she had become a millionaire on her own and at twenty-two she would never have to work a day in this life or the next. But when your business is to know everyone else's business this was just the tip of the icing.

"Have a seat, Tomoe-san." Setsuna was always more than gracious to her clientele 

"Kaiou, if you please." Her voice was like music.

Ms. Kaiou sat down in the red leather chair at the end of Setsuna's desk. Setsuna liked to have people at eye level. Those who did not play along were reprimanded and if then they did not their business was and never would be ours. I liked it when she played hardball. She claimed she could see into a person's soul and retrieve their innocence or condemn them with their guilt. 

In my opinion Ms. Kaiou had done nothing wrong, she was incapable of it. Just one look into those deep blue eyes and you were swimming. To me it was like seeing a sea nymph come to life. Her sea-green hair twisted up and around, leaving tendrils to frame her face. Her long legs were crossed precisely at the knee flaunting her white creamy skin. In her wool gray skirt and jacket with leather pumps she was a knock out. Her purse, which was large, sat on her lap. 

"I seem to have a bit of a problem," she explained calmly. "I picked something up from my front steps and I don't know what to do with it."

Being elusive always attracted Setsuna's attention. The more the better. "What is it that you found, Kaiou-san?"

The enchantress smiled. "A baby in a bassinet with this note attached." She reached into her purse and supplied the note. "The note says that 'a child should live in her father's house.' I have no doubt that Soichi knew women throughout the city or that he spent nights with them while I was on tour." 

Setsuna took the note. She did not bother to look up when she said, "Haruka, I hope you are taking notes."

I being the teachers pet that I was, smiled. "Of course I am Meiou-sama. I even have the part about the twenty-seventh of September. Should I read it back?"

Garnet eyes narrowed. If she wanted to make me look like a fool then I could just as easily done the same. She did not make further mention of my taking notes after that. Ms. Kaiou smiled at me rather shyly but returned her attention to Setsuna, who was speaking. 

"Around what time was the child dropped off?"

"Around eight o'clock in the morning. I had been practicing for an upcoming concert on my violin when I heard a car turn away. I came out to see who it was when I saw the baby."

"Did you get a good look at the driver?"

"No. My drive is covered with trees. I will tell my gardener to trim them. It is not safe for them to be so high."

Setsuna nodded. "And you want me to tell you what to do with the child?"

"No, not yet. That I will decide on my own. In fact it will be determined by what you can do for me. I want you to find the mother."

Now this was new. Baby left on doorstep, the receiver wants to find the owner but seems to have a liking for the kid. Not only that but Ms. Kaiou was willing to spend a great deal of money on finding someone who most certainly did not want to be found. 

"Find the mother?" Even Setsuna found it a little far fetched and she had done some tricky maneuvering. I think it was the fact that she knew a lot of work would be involved. 

"Yes, find the mother." 

Setsuna and I exchanged looks over our desks. "You realize that finding the mother will not be easy. It may take a great deal of time."

Ms. Kaiou shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I want to know who the mother is and I want you to find her." She reached into her purse and pulled out her checkbook. "What should I give you for a retainer?"

My heart swelled. 

"A dollar, a thousand, ten thousand. It doesn't matter. You are asking me to do the impossible and it is a challenge. I like that. Did your husband have any confidants? People who knew of his affairs?"

I felt sorry for Ms. Kaiou. To have to give such personal information to someone she didn't even know but that's what Setsuna and I was for. If you didn't want the police to go meddling in your affairs then you had no choice but to go to Meiou Setsuna. If you wanted someone else because she was difficult and eccentric then the job may not get done at all. But I had to give Ms. Kaiou credit. She went on ahead.

"I know several of my husband's friends. You'd probably want Oozua Kakeru…" She would have gone on if Setsuna had not cut her off with a wave of her hand.

"That will do, Ms. Kaiou. Do you have the baby's clothes? The clothes that they were brought in?"

"Yes. I still have them why?"

Setsuna was already up. It was then that I looked at the clock. It was almost one. At one Makoto made lunch and though Setsuna kept a slim figure she never missed one of Makoto's lunches. 

"I am going to send Haruka out to get a list of names from you as well as the baby's clothing-tomorrow at eight. Then we shall start on uncovering the baby's mother. If you'll excuse me I have other business." Setsuna bowed and might as well have teleported out of the room.

Alone with the sea goddess I put my notebook into my jacket and made fit to set up an appointment as to when to stop by and retrieve the information. I was stopped dead in my tracks when Ms. Kaiou looked up at me and smiled. Don't count me on it but I'm sure the world stopped or at least came down to a small crawl. 

"Your boss is rather hurried," she said. 

"Yes, well Setsuna has a schedule that she adheres to religiously. Not even a client as prestigious as yourself will detain her from it." I flashed her a smile. "I will see you tomorrow when I come to pick up the lambkin's things."

Ms. Kaiou stood, gave me an appreciative look and smiled. "You're very agile. I can tell. I bet you can run like the wind. You don't even break a sweat do you?"

Her intense stare was like looking into the eyes of a cobra. If I moved she would strike, not that I would have minded. "I try not to run very often but there have been occasions where fleet of foot came in handy."

Ms. Kaiou tore out a check and handed it to me. "I hope to see you again soon, Tenoh-san." And she slipped out of the room as if in a dream. 

Smiling my head off I looked down at the check. God bless her soul. The check was written out for two hundred dollars. With more bounce in my step I went to the safe and made a deposit slip before going to tell my news to Setsuna. 

"She certainly has confidence in you. It must come from your brevity. When someone is rudely brief people often assume that they know what they're doing." I sat down opposite of the large dark dinning table and fixed my napkin on my lap. "You do know what you're doing - I hope." 

I was breaking a rule, a rule that normally should not have been broken but I was in a mood to stir things up, especially if it gave me a clue as to what Setsuna was up to. 

"Haruka, we do not discuss business at the table. You know that!" Amazing how a voice can whip out like that in such a soft tone.

"I apologize. I am only intrigued, that's all." Makoto laid down a dish laden with succulent meats. 

Setsuna was enjoying a bit of glazed duck. "If there is one thing you are intrigued about it is that Kaiou woman. I trust that you will keep your mind on the task at hand." 

It would not have been so bad had she not given me 'the look.' I hate that look. She found me out and had forbidden me all at once. Completely unfair of her. I would have to use even more of my annoying charm. 

Afterwards we went into the office where we had our evening tea. Makoto had prepared little cookies but I was denied for Setsuna would not have me eating when I should be working. I believe she wanted them for herself or to share with Mizuno upstairs as they did horrible things to rodents. 

"Well?"

I was looking over the paper when Setsuna ambushed me. "Well what?"

"Are you working on our case? Are you looking up the history of Tomoe Soichi?"

"I thought I'd read the paper."

Setsuna huffed. "You demand a case and when we get one all you do is sit there and read the paper. No doubt the sport section."

The thing about my boss is that when she perturbed it is imperative that you remain calm. "Yeah, that Ferrari team. They sure do fly around those tracks. Listen to this record-"

"I could care less about records and lapping records, Haruka! You wanted this case, confound it! Get started on it!"

I hopped to me feet and went to the foyer for my hat and coat. I came back only to say, "You look ravishing when you're angry." I ducked just in time as a hardbound edition of physics came flying at my head. "Be back soon." And left. 

True, when I left the brownstone I had no idea where I was going to go for information. Then I remembered Umino. Umino works at the local paper and is a good guy to have up your sleeve. I could easily go to him for some information. 

"No. Nuh-uh. Not this time, Haruka. I got too much riding the line. And where's my front page story that you promised me?"

Did I forget to mention that he was a short scruffy four-eyed nerd? The visor he had on wasn't helping his appearance. 

"Aw, c'mon, Umino. I need this. Setsuna is on my case. All I want is a little information."

"Nothing doing."

If he was going to play it that way so could I. "What about my getting you and Naru together? If not for me the two of you would never have met."

"It was Usagi who got us together, Haruka, not you."

"And you would never have met Usagi if her husband didn't work for Setsuna and you only know Setsuna because of me." He still wouldn't budge. "Do it for a friend?"

His walls cracked and finally he gave in. "Oh, all right but only to shut you up. Lemme see. Tomoe Soichi?" His little hands went through the file drawers. "Ah here it is. Not much though. The guy died six months ago in a lab explosion. Left behind on hell of a wife though. Have you seen her? Used to be one of the Kaiou's. What a looker."

If she had been my girlfriend I would have popped Umino in the jaw and even having met the woman today I felt my fists clench. Instead I perused the file. Tomoe Soichi was a scientist, a mad scientist by the looks of it. He would have gotten along fine with Setsuna. He was an engineer of body parts or something like that. His goal was to make people more efficient, better machines. A lot of diplomas, honors and awards but not a lot of personal history. He was married but we knew that. I would just have to go and speak to Ms. Kaiou myself – something that I was far from dreading. 

"All right. Thanks, Umino. Been a lot of help." I handed the file back to him and made for the door. 

"You aren't working on a case just yet, are you?"

I did the best thing I could think of right then. I lied. "No, not just yet."

Umino eyed me warily but didn't say anything more. I got into my roadster to report to Setsuna. 

"Interesting. Tomoe Soichi was a leader in the field of bioengineering." Setsuna was once again enjoying another cup of green tea in her large chair, reading her book.

"What?"

"Bioengineering. What's more is that he wanted to clash human material with robotics. A truly amazing feat if he could have proved if feasible."

"You knew this guy but still sent me out for information?" Being her footman I was used to running all over the place for her but it was for things she generally needed. That she knew of Tomoe when I left and didn't share… That was just spiteful. 

She smiled, a mere upraising of the corner of her lips. "You needed something to do. Something to get your mind off of Kaiou-san." 

I growled but stayed where I was. "Anything else you'd like to tell me?"

Setsuna looked up as one finger flipped a page. "Yes. Go to bed. It's late. You have to be up in time to see Kaiou-san and you undoubtedly will want to look your best."

She had me there. I left my desk and went over to hers. I stood there for quite some time before she looked up. 

"What is it?"

"I just thought you might want to give me a goodnight kiss."

Her forehead crumpled in a frown. "Go to bed."

"No night time story?"

"Go. To. Bed."

"Not even a glass of –"

"Haruka! Go to bed!"

Having satisfied my need to annoy her before bed, I jaunted up to my room where I had delicious thoughts of a certain violinist.


	3. Button Button

Author Notes: Characters:Not Mine. Plot: Not completely mine. Oh well. 

III

I was up early with the birds, although I doubt the birds would find anything so tasty as Makoto's Belgian waffles. She made me two and I finished the first then half of the other. She likes to spoil me. At least she recognizes that running errands takes energy. 

My yellow roadster and I made good time, curving around the edges of the highway that led to the secluded Kaiou mansion. Setsuna, abhorring any machine that moved, would have screamed the entire way – cursing my recklessness arrogant handling and me. It would have been fun. 

I was early, being the usual result of speeding and to my surprise I would need it. The Kaiou mansion was an elegant beast forged by aristocracy and cold hard money. Several marble steps greeted me each side boasting a snarling lion. I whistled for words could barely express the elegance that such an abode would manifest. A glance at my watch told me that it was five to eight. Plenty of time to climb the steps and think about what I was going to say next.

A well-endowed woman with long red hair and curves more dangerous than I had taken on the trip here opened the door. She smiled at me, which didn't quite reach her eyes, but these days few people actually did as they felt. Besides Ms. Kaiou was undoubtedly paying her well to be pleasant. 

"And you are?"

"Tenoh Haruka. She's expecting me." 

The Ice Queen nodded. "Yes. Follow me please."

If the exterior deserved a whistle the interior could only be honored with silence. Setsuna would go crazy in this place. Bookshelves on every other wall and where there wasn't there was a portrait, all very famous, painted back when tights were the fashion. Elegant and soft furniture giving an impression of warmth and comfort, a few fireplaces here and there, not to mention a kitchen that Makoto could have a field day in. The grandeur of it all engulfed me to the point where I nearly missed the melancholy melody that drifted over us.

My guide showed me into the music room. Tasteful yet again it held a baby grand and a grandfather clock but it was not what captured my eye. There by the piano was the sea nymph playing her violin. Her body swayed as her fingers danced over the string. Her milk white arms strong and vibrant as she moved the bow and held her instrument in place. I had never seen anything so lovely. 

"Tenoh-san is here to see you, ma'am."

She stopped, looked at the red head then at me and smiled. "Thank you, Kaori. Would you please see to Hotaru? I would like to talk to Tenoh-san alone."

Kaori smiled, gave me the once over and disappeared into another room. Alone at last I could only smile at her. 

Ms. Kaiou looked at her clock. "Eight o'clock on the dot, Tenoh-san."

"When Setsuna says eight o'clock, she means it." I had admired her long enough. It was time to get to business. "Do you have the clothes that," I paused remembering the babe's name, "Hotaru came in?"

This seemed to jot her memory and she nodded. "Yes. I did not bother to wash them in case something on them could be of future use." She took a parcel wrapped in brown paper from the piano and handed it to me. 

Oh she was good. I liked it when they turned on the business attitude. "Yes. I'm sure that Setsuna will be pleased. I see you've decided to keep the baby."

"Of course. If she is Soichi's baby what right have I to turn her away? She needed a name and I remember how he loved fireflies." 

She was elegant, deep, compassionate, and intelligent. Every part of me screamed out 'Do not go near her. You'll get burnt, Haruka.' But there was that other side of me that kicked the sensible side out and picked up the can of kerosene. I would let her burn me. No questions asked. 

She cleared her throat. It was my turn to look startled. She regarded me with that cool smile. There was an aqua colored envelope in her hand. 

"I have complied a list of possible mothers for you and Meiou-san. I hope can only hope that it may be of some use to you."

I took the envelope. It smelled like sea salt. "We appreciate your help, Kaiou-san. It must be hard on you to go through this since your husband's death." I had to pump her too. As much as I hated to cause such a beautiful woman pain a professional detective had to move forward. 

Ms. Kaiou shook her head, sitting down on a small stool. "It is not so hard as all that, Tenoh-san. The real reason is that it is so easy to list all the women who might have been involved with Soichi. My husband was an eccentric." She looked up with those large pools of blue and held me there. "It was part of the reason I was attracted to him. I was tired of being a Kaiou. I wanted adventure, excitement and oddities in my life. Soichi gave me all those but I'm afraid I did not give him what he needed in return."

How wrong is it to want to dig up a corpse and beat it with your fists? No matter what Ms. Kaiou or Setsuna thought this man had proven himself to be a world class idiot.

"I'm on tour a lot, you see. There would be months when I would not be at home and Soichi was often very lonely. It was only a matter of time before he found someone else to share his time with."

"If you knew about it why didn't you get a divorce?"

"Divorce is such an ugly word. Besides it would only cause more scandal when the truth came out. Believe it or not Soichi was a very sensitive man and took failure hard. If word got out that he could not keep his young wife, he would have been crushed. I came out of the ordeal a wiser woman," she added with a hint of a smile. 

She was doing things to me. First thinking of beating a dead man and now I wanted to fall to my knees and promise her everything that she had been denied. Unbeknownst to me I had taken a step forward; about to go through with that very plan when a wail pulled me up short. We both looked up to see Kaori with a squirming bundle in her hands. She looked very put out.

"Excuse me, Ms. Kaiou but…" 

There was no need to finish. She was up on her feet taking the bundle up out of the older woman's arms. A look came over her as she held the little tot. It was pained yet content - happy yet sad. But when Kaiou looked at me next there was no regret. 

"Would you like to hold her?"

Kaori seemed almost as surprised as I did. I hardly held a baby let alone look at one. When Mamoru and Usagi brought Chibi-Usa over it melted everyone, even Setsuna who had been chosen to play the large role of godmother to the sprat. But we are a loose if not off family as it is. To hold this one – I wasn't so sure of. 

How she ended up in my arms I don't know but she stopped wailing and looked at me. She was studying me. I can always tell when someone is sizing me up, putting the pros and cons to this and that. I blinked, then she blinked. I wasn't going to feed her. She wasn't going to do something foul in her diapers. A pair of giggles interrupted our silent conversation by way of Kaori and Ms. Kaiou. The culprits didn't even have the sense to look ashamed. 

"I apologize, Tenoh-san. It's just that she's never done that before and frankly it was cute." She was giggling still as she took Hotaru out of my arms. "You have a way with babies."

I grinned. "Well it is for that reason that Setsuna keeps me around." She frowned and I felt the need to explain. "We often have guests and I am the one all the children want to play with, like it or not."

We stared into each other's eyes for what could have been eternity. It was only by a sheer force of will that I was able to break eye contact. She seemed just as aware of it as I had been. She shifted Hotaru to one shoulder, kissed her forehead and began to hum a soothing lullaby. I took this as my signal to split. 

I was half way to the door when she called out, "Do you mind if I call you Haruka?"

I turned because her voice compelled me to. "I don't know about that. You see you're a client and having you calling me by my first name is sort of unprofessional."

"I will let you call me Michiru in return."

Now there was a deal but I had to tread lightly. "How about this: You write it down as a memo and if you say I can call you Michiru, you can call me by whatever name you want. Deal?"

Again with the smile that could light up the deepest cavern. "Deal. Will I see you soon?"

"Certainly." I tipped my hat to her and her help and left the mansion feeling heavier than before. 

When I arrived at the brownstone an hour later, Makoto was cooking in the kitchen as well as sampling from our wine selection. Setsuna always has wine at a meal. Without it she says that our meals would be amateur and that would not do with Makoto's amazing talent. 

"Did you find anything?"

I dumped myself into the nearest chair. "I found an attractive heiress and long legged red head. I think you might be interested in the red head. Looks like she hasn't had a decent meal in years."

Makoto only gratified me with a flat look. "Really, Haruka. What did you find?"

"Well there is something peculiar about the baby clothes."

Though Makoto never cared whether or not we had a case or the facts surrounding them, she did know how to keep a conversation going. "How so?"

"The buttons." I pulled out one of the baby's things and held it up to her. "The buttons are strange don't you think?"

"Very strange. I don't know how someone would come about with these."

"They're horsehair buttons." Setsuna announced coming in from the library, book in hand. She had only just come in to see what the fuss was about and where her afternoon tea was. "Amazing." Her dark eyes gleamed. If there was one thing you could distract Setsuna on it was fashion. "Amazing. Truly amazing."

"So they're rare?" I spared a glance at Makoto to see if she had started the tea – she had. "That should make them easy to find."

Setsuna had her hands in the bag from the Kaiou mansion. "Are all of them like that?"

"Every last one."

She pulled down one of the collars and read: "Precious Things." She then looked to me to clarify. 

"Precious Things is a middle class children's clothing store in the fashion district." Slowly I got to my feet. "Let me guess you want me to go out there and see if I can find out who bought them?" When Setsuna smiled – that smug, cold one that just makes you want to scream – I knew the answer. "Sure. I'll be back before dinner."

Makoto gave me a stern stare before taking up the tea tray to follow Setsuna back in the library. If there was one thing that she hated in the world it was cooking for someone who wasn't going to be there. It was not only a waste of her time but most importantly a waste of gourmet food; and I happened to agree. 

The fashion district is an obstacle course of hangers, racks, pushy sales women, and collectors of strange antiquities. One such fellow I met after going to Precious Things. They recognized the clothing but not the buttons. When I asked the short plump sales clerk where I might find out about them she told me, through blushing giggles, of a man that knew all about buttons as I later had the joy to meet. He had a shop a few blocks down called Randall's House of Buttons. It didn't sound flashy but he looked it. 

"You know about buttons?"

Randall or at least I assume that his name is Randall, giggled. He was nervous or giddy or high from the opium his girls in the back had brought over with them from the mainland. Sweating despite the cold and wearing a long black robe he looked more like a cheap magician than a man of buttons. 

"I know everything there is about buttons." 

That was no lie. There were buttons everywhere. Buttons on the walls, buttons in the display case, books on buttons, and buttons all over him. So I dubbed him aptly. "So you are the button man?"

He giggled. "Yes. Yes, I am. I am the button man."

"Good.Then perhaps you can help me with these." I pulled out the purple jumper and laid it flat. "You see I am looking for the maker of these buttons and I –" 

"Those are beautiful buttons! I have never seen buttons like those! Believe me when I say that for I have seen plenty of buttons. My god where did you get them?"

"I dunno. I was hoping that you might know." 

"I have never seen anything like it. They are horsehair, that much I can tell you. Made by hand…" This guy and Setsuna might just get along "…. The craftsman must have spent hours and hours winding the hairs. Whoever made them, made them with love 

"But you don't know who made them?"

"No, I do not." 

"Well you've been very helpful." I tried to leave but Randall had a firm grasp on the jumper. He was drooling on it. His eyes fixed on the buttons. 

"Do you think I could keep this?"

"Ah – no." I pulled it to me.

"Please?" He pulled it back towards him. 

"No."

"Just one button?"

"I'm afraid I can't. Now let go!" Before he could protest I had my hand under his chin and pushed up and away. "I apologize for getting rough with you but you should see someone about your button problem." 

Randall wiped the saliva from his lips and whimpered as the buttons and I left his store. 

My report to Setsuna was brief so I am not going to waste space to tell you. All she did was grunt – yes, she grunts - and get up to go to her four o'clock Frankenstein convention she had with Mizuno upstairs. I followed, waiting for instructions. 

"Stop following me, Haruka."

"Not until you give me something to do."

"Jump off a bridge." 

"Would love too but the river is frozen. I was thinking it should have something to do with this case."

Her back relaxed and she sighed with defeat. So much for going to the lab without thoughts of real work. "Put an ad out in the papers. Bold print. Thirty-six font. Wanted horsehair buttons. Irregular in size."

"Which paper?"

"Which paper can put the ad in tomorrow's press?"

"At the Tribune and Herald five but at the News anytime."

Setsuna pursed her lips. "Better see to them all." She was about to go when she pulled up short and said, "A reward of a hundred dollars but put that in smaller print."

"Yes ma'am."

Makoto poked her head out of the kitchen. "If she is willing to pay a reward the mother hunt must be on."

I looked at the purple jumper in my hand and smiled. "And a hunting we will go. 


	4. Of Men and Friends

Author's Notes: Ahem…The characters are not mine hell the plot really isn't mine either. Sorry it took so long but as usual I got distracted by bright shiny object. Oh whatsdat….

IV

Besides the great newspaper ad Setsuna had another great plan. She wanted to know the friends of Soichi Tomoe, for that she had to gather them from all over the city for an in house meeting. I, of course got to present the invitations. Funny, you'd think a guy like Soichi would have more friends: Oozora Kakeru worked in an adjacent lab, and his own two assistants Mimete and Eudial. 

Oozora Kakeru was a nice guy, wore a little too much pink under his lab coat but a decent looking sort. He carried himself with ease and would not kill a fly if his life depended on it. We almost looked alike. Eudial-san on the other hand looked as though she would have no problem killing anything or anyone. There was a gleam of malicious glee at the mention of Tomoe Soichi. Mimete, the other assistant (if you want to call her that) burst into tears. I could have gone for either of them had Eudial not been so cynical (I could get a dose of that from Setsuna) and Mimete so dizzy about the professor and who starred in which new movie. My god the man was insane. The only true friend it seemed was Oozora. 

"Yes, I'd say he was a bit eccentric but aren't we all?" He was sitting in the red chair in front of Setsuna's desk flanked by Eudial and Mimete. His black fedora laid calmly on his knee, on his other was a small cup of sake. 

Setsuna, with her poker face merely nodded. "True, his genius required the sort of perspective to produce his experiments, but what I desire is his habits, his likes…"

"Most notably in the female form," I added merrily. 

The boss gave me a withering glance but continued. "Tenoh-san has a point. You see I have a client - Kaiou-san, his late wife - and a former lover of his is blackmailing her. She has bought my services to find this vixen and to expose her." 

The only vixen I wanted to expose was the one that hired us but that is strictly off the record. Oozora nodded, his mind already working. 

"Yes, it would make sense. I never understood what she wanted with Tomoe but she seemed happy."

That seemed to satisfy her, almost. "How did you meet Tomoe-san?"

He looked up with a small smile. "Oh we all share the same building. So we struck up a friendship. You see we were both dreamers, he and I. While he sought to forge the instabilities of man with machinery, I longed for the Moon and all her mysteries."

Eudial groaned from her seat in the chair facing the window. "Oh not that again. They're both crazy."

One green eyebrow went up as another went down. Setsuna leaned forward. "While I do not appreciate interruptions, I am curious to why you would say such a thing."

The spunky red head pushed her rectangular glass up her narrow muzzle. "Tomoe-san was always talking about a future where no one had to die, where everyone could live on forever. He talked about it all the time. Sure, I'm glad he gave me a job but if I knew that I would have to listen to him rant all the damn time I would never have signed the contract. Besides, who would want to live forever?"

"An interesting question indeed. Tell me, Eudial-san, did Tomoe-san receive a lot of calls at work? Were they at all business related?"

"You'd have to ask the spastic over there that. I only answered phone calls from the professor and not without some reserve."

"Certainly you must know of some names. Even the most absorbed people catch names on a breeze." I loved it when she got poetic. 

"Some but not a great deal. I don't like this. Never have and never will."

"Your opinion is duly noted. Haruka?"

I looked down at my note pad. "Never have. Never will. Good enough?"

Her lips twitched. "Satisfactory. Now Mimete-san -" She was cut off by the sound of a cat drowning in a lake. "Mimete-san?" No good the girl was still crying. Setsuna looked to me, panic in her eyes. She never knew what to do when people were emotional. 

Putting down pad and pencil I walked around my desk and over to Mimete. Maybe the girl had realized that she had bought her clothes from a retired circus performer and paid too much. Maybe she wanted to confess that she was Hotaru's mother. And maybe just maybe she realized that a relationship between her and me would just never work out. 

"Miss? Miss?" I knelt down beside her, my handkerchief in hand. "I know this is dreadful work but you have to be strong."

A small ring covered hand reached out and took the offered hanky. Dabbing at her eyes she tried to regain composure. "I know I know. It's just horrible that someone would want to do this. Kaioh-san has lost a husband and now blackmailed by one of those harlots. I will help you in any way that I can."

My employer and I shared a glance. She raised an eyebrow and I scowled. Finally with a sigh of defeat Setsuna gave her the thumbs up. 

"Satisfactory, Mimete-san. I thank you for your willingness to cooperate." It was getting close to lunchtime and Setsuna was getting antsy. Makoto was preparing a new recipe and Setsuna was more than curious to this little 'experiment.' "Could you have the list of names by this evening? I would like to put my men on it as soon as possible."

Oozora stood up. He was nearly as tall as I was. "I will have it for you within the hour. If there is anything else I can do call me at my office. I'll have my assistant forward you immediately." He bowed respectfully and left.

Eudial got up as well, pulling a sniffling Mimete with her. "I have to finish up the findings for the University's science council. Though he maybe long gone, Tomoe-san's work still lives on. Mimete will be there as well putting everything into boxes. Once this is done I can get a real research job." She glared down at her companion. "We will give you our list as well. It's not right that Tomoe-san's mistress should get away with it all, husband and blackmail."

I saw them to the door, putting on their jackets. Eudial wanted to do it herself and out of spite I wouldn't let her. Mimete didn't want to go at all. Oh the pains of having a sympathetic heart. Once they were out of the door I went back to the office. 

"So which of our little ducklings is going to turn out to be the goose?"

"Such licentious behavior is contemptible! That Kaiou-san put up with it so long is beyond me." She grabbed the papers and handed them to me. "Get the blackboard from the basement. When those lists arrive I want who they were from and any detail that might come with it."

"What for?"

"To cross examine them of course!" 

"Won't that take some time?"

Garnet eyes burned with indignant wrath. "What would you have me do, Haruka? Go outside and… and call out for every one of those women? No, we must be discreet. We must have candor from them. Running about crying for an adulteress is only going to shut them up. It's the only option we have for now." Setsuna stomped out into the hallway. "I never should have taken this case!"

I pulled her ear and that meant that she would do her best to solve the case as quickly as possible less I get even more irksome. I followed her out to add fuel to the fire.

Setsuna's long legs had taken her into the dining room. "Get Chiba, Kou and Furuhata over here for a briefing. You shall work on the buttons while they search for Tomoe-san's elusive mistress."

"Couldn't have done better myself. What about Kaioh-san?"

"Haruka, I am at a meal! Do whatever it is you want to."

"I'll call her when we have something then."

"Wonderful. Now shut up and eat." 

Not one to turn down one of Makoto's meals I was there in a flash. Lunch consisted of broiled fish with lemon and a white wine with raspberry tarts for desert. I was glad that I didn't miss this meal. 

Around two o'clock we got a call from the newspaper add. A Kayama Mika who said she knew a girl who had horsehair buttons but she wouldn't be able to see me today. We made a date for tomorrow on her lunch break and where to meet. I came into the office just as Setsuna sat to read a new book.

"Today is my lucky day," I told her. "First I get to comfort a delicate flower here in your office, I think I'll call her Marigold, then I get a date for tomorrow at one with a girl who knows what horse hair buttons are and we plan on discussing them for an hour or so. I am one lucky dog."

Setsuna sat in her comfortable maroon chair and gave me a flat look. "Yes, you are a dog."

I ignored that remark. "Until then I am going to twiddle my thumbs and wait for a phone call. Mamoru and Motoki are on a job. As for Seiya we could do without him. Perhaps I could get a list of available women who have no qualms about being seen by a rake like me."

She had returned to her book and flipped a page. "Are you going to blather the entire time?" 

"Maybe."

"Then shut up. I cannot read with your lips moving. Go to a movie or something. Go and get Chiba and Kou personally if you have to. Just leave me with a moments peace."

"Can you answer the phone all by yourself?"

Another look that I have seen a great deal. I was pushing too hard. "I have answered the telephone without your assistance before. I have no doubt that I will remember what to do."

"Just remember, the long part is the receiver." And ducked out before any literary giant could make contact with my head. 

I didn't go about getting Chiba or Kou; instead I went to the club bought a couple of lovely ladies a drink and feeling rather chummy towards myself bought myself a gin and tonic. I danced once or twice but not without the itch of wondering just how good Ms.Kaiou's long legs would have looked on the dance floor. The thought sent me to the brownstone to see if Tomoe's friends had come through.

When I entered the office just a little before five I found that I was not alone. Chiba Mamoru, Furuhata Motoki, were in sitting in front of Setsuna's desk sipping drinks. It didn't take me long to find Kou. Kou Seiya always figured himself for my job and liked to sit behind my desk for the feel of it in case something should happen to me or I push Setsuna too far. He wanted to protest but a look from Chiba stopped him. 

Mamoru and I have been friends for quite some time. We met tagging the same girl, the girl he later married, Tsukino Usagi. I had been hired to protect her from a big bag oil firm and Mamoru was there to tag her by the murderer. We teamed up together to save her, much to the delight of Usagi, using one of Setsuna's better schemes. The haul was great and Mamoru seeing us work pledged himself to help Setsuna. A truly nice guy if a bit shy at times and despite good looks can follow a man five paces without drawing attention to himself.

My other friend sat close to Mamoru, Motoki. Motoki was by no means as good as Mamoru but if it came down to a brawl I'd want Motoki on my side. I have seen the guy move like a lion, pouncing with his claws. And when Mamoru was too shy or I too busy, Motoki could reel the damsels in closer for more information. 

"Glad you could make it, Haruka. I was just explaining the list," said Setsuna from behind her desk. I think she liked being surrounded by handsome guys but she would never admit it. 

"So they came through. How charming." I sat down behind my desk, noticing scuff marks from Seiya's shoes. He would get his.

"Yes. We gentlemen are going to look for the mother of an illegitimate child. She will not want to be found and will more than likely lie about the entire affair. We have four lists - three from the close friends and one from the wife. As absurd as it sounds I am hiring you three to find a new possible lead while Haruka goes looking for buttons. Have faith in me and we shall find her."

Setsuna sounded like one of those great sea pirates promising her crew riches just over the horizon. I closed my eyes momentarily to picture her with the wind in her hair and an eye patch but it did not last long enough for my imaginary Setsuna turned to me with a scowl and demanded to know why I was thinking about pirates at a time like this. I shook the image far away. Little did I know how much trouble those buttons would get me. 


	5. The Woman and Her Dog

Author's Notes: Sorry it took me so long for this chapter but life went POP! So once again I don't own them the plot is not mine and I promise it won't take me this long for the next chapter. I swear…. A lot actually, like a sailor – but that isn't' the point. Focus. Focus. Sorry. Here it is…. 

****

V

I walked around the crowded streets of the office high rises, looking for my prize. I must have passed her twice because Kayama Mika was a girl. When I say girl I mean a girl- a maiden of youth, a child. She was so small and sitting on one of the many small benches the city had put up for show but not for comfort. She must have felt me looking at her because her eyes met mine and I had a feeling that she knew a lot more about life than any little girl should.

"Kayama-san?"

She nodded with a wan smile. "Tenoh-san. Sit down."

Used to being given orders I sat next to the girl. To my amazement, Kayama-san was dressed like an office secretary. The woolen dress and matching jacket, even the adjoining hat. On her it looked displaced like a little kid trying to play dress up.

"Thank you." It was now or never. "So what do you know of horse hair buttons?"

Kayama-san sighed. She ruffled through her purse and brought out a cigarette. She tapped it four times before she lit it and turned to me. She had become another person. 

"All right," she said blowing smoke. "But do you have the money? The hundred dollars your ad promised?"

I reached into my coat and pulled out the bill I had folded. If I had put it in my wallet and she saw the cash I carried in there, Kayama-san would ask for more. But it was enough for her so she started to gab. 

"I hate being a secretary. It's a good profession and honorable for part time work but I want to be more than that. I want the world to see who I am and my high goals for myself. I try out for idol competitions. You know about idol competitions don't you?" I nodded. "Then you know how competitive all the girls get. I know I'm not as good as some of the others but I can't give it up. I know there's something better out there for me and maybe when I'm around your age I'll have that dream. Maybe Aino Minako will be already be an idol and I won't have to compete with her anymore. Aino-san once wore a jacket with horsehair buttons. Judges love originality. I'm sure you'll love her too." 

Kayama-san put out her cigarette on the arm of the bench and stood up, hand outstretched. "My money please." When the bill slipped into her hand it was strangled in her tight grip. She bowed to me and left. 

Not really knowing just how good of a source Kayama-san would be I hated to part with the money. However, when I spoke to Aino Minako I knew I had hit the jackpot. We talked over the phone a little bit about my being a button collector. It wasn't a lie. For this case I was a button collector who just so happened to need to know about babies as well. Aino-san agreed to meet me at a small eatery a block away from her house. 

She kept me waiting a good hour before she graced me with her presence. Now this girl knew how to make an entrance. She swayed as she walked; her high heels clicking on the tiles sending little shivers up and down my spine. Light blue eyes that were almost gray scanned the room, her electric smile never faltering. 

"Tenoh Haruka?"

Her voice wasn't as smooth as I would have liked it to be but the curves were in the right spot. "Aino Minako?" She nodded and I went around the table I had reserved to pull out her seat. "A pleasure to meet you Aino-san."

"Please call me Minako or Minako-chan. Calling me Aino-san makes me feel like an old lady."

And there was certainly nothing old about her. Aino-ahem- Minako was in the bloom of her prime and if she kept herself well would not see it wither for a long time. She certainly had an effect on people - boys and girls alike. 

Minako leaned forward chin resting on the back of a hand. "Are you really a button collector, Haruka-san? You don't look like a button collector. I'd say you're into other things." Her eyes darkened. "Dangerous things." 

She was also a flirt. It was going to be an even match then. "For now I am. We all have to have our vices, Minako-chan. Button collecting just happens to be one of them. Right now I'm interested in horsehair buttons. Horsehair buttons that I've been told only you know how to get."

With a flip of her long golden hair Minako shook her head. "I'm not that easy, Haruka. Buy me a drink."

I caught the waitress as she went by. Minako took a milkshake of some sort and I went for my original sin, coffee. She returned in a couple of minutes with our order. 

"So, Minako-chan what do you do?" It took all my strength to ask her that. Minako was doing some rather interesting things with the cherry from her shake. 

"Oh I model from time to time. Other times I fill in as a secretary for revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Yes. Sometimes a secretary gets fired, not by the boss but by the boss' wife. I'm the revenge."

Tomoe-san might have used her so I asked, "Have you ever had to work with strange, eccentric types? Like say, an author or a mad scientist? Scientists who build robots and such?"

"I've worked with a lot of eccentric types, Haruka. But I have never worked with one who built robots. I mostly try to stay with the other secretaries. Some employers like to try to take advantage of my good nature." She popped the cherry in her mouth, then placed a neatly knotted stem on her napkin. "Are you eccentric?"

"At times, but I'm a bore." I glanced at the stem. If that was just one of the things she could do with her tongue, its no wonder that Minako won the idol competitions. Hell I was ready to give up asking for the buttons and asking if she had a boyfriend/girlfriend/anything friend. 

"You're anything but that, Haruka."

Oh yeah. She was good. If I had to stay any longer Minako could have me on melt down. "Remember I collect buttons. Normal people would find that boring."

Minako batted long lashes. "Everyone has to have something to do."

"Does that mean that I can count on you to help me out?"

She giggled. "You're persistent, Haruka. I like that. Yes, I'll help you out."

Minako told me about her strange aunt that lived in the country all by herself with a three legged dog named Scotty. She was often alone so much that she had taken up the hobby of making horsehair buttons. It took her hours of spinning with just her hands to make them. Then she would sell them or put them on the clothes of her loved ones. Minako never understood why her Aunt Haruna labored over something only to give it away but that was her nature - to make then to give. 

All this I got out of a thirty-minute conversation with Minako. We exchanged phone numbers. She to add mine to her wall of fame and myself just in case I needed to speak with her again. Besides I needed someone to tell me more about Aunt Haruna, if she shut the door in my face. After we left the eatery I called Setsuna from a phone booth. 

"I got lucky."

"Haruka, keep that to yourself. What did you find?"

"I found a three legged dog and an Aunt Haruna up in the country who just so happens to enjoy spinning thread of horsehair into buttons for her loved ones. Tell me that isn't luck."

"It isn't luck, Haruka. Though we are detectives and make our living off the wheels of other's misfortunes, you are able to deduce and process the facts given to you. You undoubtedly flirted with the poor girl, lowering her defenses. Luck was only involved so much as the fact that Ms. Kayama called you." 

Point goes to Setsuna. I told her that I would not be available for the next five hours to which she replied that she had Makoto, Mamoru and Motoki to help her if anything came up - the 3 M's. What would we do without them? 

I walked to Windsor Avenue to our garage and as always Kanaeda-san was there to greet me. He had his head underneath the Rolls giving her a tune up. The roadster was free as usual. Setsuna owned all the cars in the garage. The roadster, the luxury Rolls sedan, and my motorized death trap on two wheels as Setsuna called it. Kanaeda and I talked a bit about cars as he filled up the tank. He wished me a safe journey as I hit the road. 

Minako may have been on the right track but she was horrible at giving directions. I stopped at a gas station to confer with the noted sages of the area and they put me on the right track. Just a little past three I pulled up to a tiny little cottage in need of some minor repairs with a junker sitting in what could be used as a drive way. It was now or never. 

I knocked on the door all but once when the door swung open. A young woman opened with door with a shawl over her head and three-legged dog under her arm. 

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"I'm in the button business. I have been told by a reliable source that you make horsehair buttons. Say can I come in? I'm really thirsty."

She gave me a good long scything look before nodding, "All right buster. Get in."

It struck me as rather odd that she would let a complete stranger into her house but then again the people in the serenity of the country often act differently compared to cityslickers. Then I looked down on the table and saw our ad. Okay so she knew. What now?

"So you figured it out, eh?" No need to be coy, at least not yet anyhow.

Sakurada Haruna sat down across from me, drooling dog still in hand. "What do you want from me?"

"Just what the add says. I want buttons."

"I don't have any just yet. I take awhile to make them. Besides what makes you think I would just give them over to you?"

She was getting touchy. She wanted me to go and fast. 

"I have a buyer that is very interested in your style of making the buttons."

She didn't believe me. "All right buddy you've had your piece and now I'll give you mine. Get out."

"Can I at least have that glass of water? It was long drive up here."

"And it was for nothing. Now get out before I call the cops on you."

I went but not without some resentment. I really wanted that glass of water. Oh well I could just pick up a fountain at the station while I phoned Setsuna. 

"She knows something is up," I told Setsuna from the phone booth. "And she gave me this look like my old junior high teacher used to give me – she always knew when I was lying too."

"It doesn't matter. When are you coming home?"

"That's just it. I'm not. She bound to make a move sooner or later. Maybe she could lead us back to the person who left the baby on Kaiou-san's steps."

"But when are you going to eat?"

"I'll figure that out later. I just thought I should give you my progress report."

"But-"

The thing with geniuses is to know when and when not to argue with them or to simply hang up the phone. Hanging up seemed to be the easier route. However when I came back to the house the junker car was gone and the place locked. I used expletive monologue for it was the proper time and place for it. Then I decided that this might make for a good advantage. Perhaps good Aunt Haruna had just gone out to talk to her niece about talking to strangers or for a quart of milk. Either way it gave me a window, literally, of opportunity to sneak in and see what all the fuss was about. 

Like any recluse's cottage there were a lot of old things hanging around. Postcards, cedar chests, old letter from family and friends. I'd say that it made the cottage just a little more cozy. It made you feel at home being around the things of the people that you loved most. But one room was certainly out of place – a crib and rocking chair in the east room. In that room I found the great treasure throve, a complete closet set with baby clothes from Precious Memories all neatly decorated with horsehair buttons – just like Hotaru's.

I went back to that quaint little gas station and informed Setsuna of the changes. I told her that I could stay up at the cottage and wait for her return but that was quickly shot down. No she was going to pull Seiya off the mother hunt to stake out the woman's hut. I agreed. I didn't want that knave coming close to my aqua haired princess. So when my relief showed up and cleverly hid his car in the bramble covering Aunt Haruna's lot, I was more than happy to get back to the city. 

Was. The moment I got into the office Setsuna latched onto me wanting to leech any and all information that I could have gathered.

"What sort of woman are we dealing with, Haruka?" she demanded.

"The womanly kind. You know," I speculated behind my desk, "the two of you would have gotten along. Same short acerbic speaking, then again she was hip to my coming and didn't seem surprised."

"Anyone with half a sense would agree to that." Setsuna buzzed for Makoto. "Why do you think she went away?"

"I scared her. I scare a lot of women who don't know what to do in my presence. Then again there is you-" I stopped as Makoto entered the room. "Makoto, tell her. I scare a lot of women, don't I? It's the charm. A supreme curse."

Makoto and Setsuna exchanged a look. "You don't scare women off as much as you think – at least until they see the size of your ego."

This earned a chuckle from the boss. Makoto, pleased with herself took the tray and left the room. I would owe her for that.

We sat around for a little while before Setsuna decided it was that time. She went upstairs to the laboratory and disappeared. I thought about going to see Ms. Kaiou to tell her about our progress except for the fact that there wasn't even all that much progress to begin with. Maybe when Aunt Haruna came back I would be able to ask her questions whether she knew Kaiou outside the newspaper. That was a plan and all I had for the moment. I spent the rest of the night playing billiards with Makoto down in the basement. She's a decent player – when I'm shooting left handed and one armed. We went on until dinner. Still no word from Seiya, the little bastard was playing with me. He liked to make me wait. Little did he realize just what I was going to do with him when he finally decided to call. 

Seiya, I thought, was a lazy no good womanizing mooch. He knows just how to pour on the charm. That charm had worked its magic on an unsuspecting girl. It wasn't that he loved them and left them, they usually got smart and left him before he could do any of the dumping. It doesn't bother him much. In fact it gives him more chances to practice whatever lines he was going to use for the dumping and guilt free. To each their own I suppose.

He kept me in suspense up to the next morning. He sounded tired and worried when I picked up the phone I hardly recognized it was him.

"Haruka?"

"This is Tenoh Haruka."

"Where's Setsuna? Is she there?"

"Yes but she's not up yet and neither should I, Seiya. This had better be good."  


Seiya chuckled, that dry chuckle I hated so much. "Oh it's good all right. Guess who just showed up at Aunt Haruna's charming cottage? One Sergeant Kumada. Where there's a Kumada there's an Inspector Hino which means –"

I groaned and starting banging my head on the doorframe. "No more Sakurada-san. Seiya come to the office. It seems that whatever happened Aunt Haruna was not only involved with horsehair buttons." My day had just gone to pots.


	6. Sakurada Haruna

****

VI

Things had gone from bad to worse. They were going to find my prints all over that cottage. Which meant that the Inspector was on her way to drag me off in the paddy wagon. If things got too bad Setsuna would just have to get one of her many powerful lawyers and have me bonded. 

When I hung up with Seiya I sighed, looked around my room and decided that going back to bed was not an option. It wouldn't be right for Hino to drag me out of the brownstone in my pajamas; she'd enjoy it too much. 

I then went to Setsuna's room. I knocked twice before entering. She sat upon her dark satin sheets sipping tea and eating toast. Her hair was a little messed but not greatly. I, myself, need pomade and water to control my hair and that just barely worked. I hated her hair. 

"Haruka?" She was alarmed. I hardly ever bother her so early in the morning unless I've been in the slammer the night before. "What is it?"

"You remember that sweet Aunt Haruna I told you about?"

"I do. What has happened?"

I inhaled. "It seems that whatever I may have said to her yesterday prompted her to run off and get herself killed. Seiya was the one who called a little while ago. Kumada showed up at her door. Homicide detectives just don't show up at little cottages because they feel like scenic drives through the country."

Setsuna almost did the same thing I first did. She desperately wanted to bang her head on something but instead she took it out on me. "Dammit, Haruka! As if this case wasn't bad enough!" She seemed to realize she was yelling. Then the gears in her head began to turn. 

"Well I've got worse. It's only a matter of time before Inspector Hino finds out that I was in that house with the aunt."

"That is a problem." Setsuna got up, wrapping a large robe around her sleek form. "If the inspector does come for you, you must not tell them why you were there."

I knew Setsuna liked to play mind games with the police and I had willingly helped her on several occasions but that was when she had an idea of who the murderer was. At this point we still had no clue as to who the mother was. Needless to say I was a little put off. 

"But what if they ask me why I was there? Are you suggesting that I lie?"

Setsuna gave me a flat look. "You have done so before. What is so different with this case?"

"The simple fact that I might go to jail…again!"

"And have I not provided a means of escape before?" 

"So not a word on our client?"

"Correct. We cannot have the police bumbling around trying to find the murderer and therefore scaring off the real mother of the child." She paused to slip into her patented slippers. "Do you think we can find the mother without finding who murdered Sakurada-san?"

"Probably not."

"It's good to see that you are thinking, Haruka. Then we must continue to search for the mother in hopes of finding the killer."

"Novel approach. Kaiou-san will back away once she's heard of the murder." Ms. Kaiou was a delicate woman. A murder connected to her esteemed family would do her no good. 

Setsuna pursed her lips in thought. "You have a way with Kaiou-san. Go to her home and inform her before the inspector puts two and two together."

"Should I go now?"

"Heavens no! You should eat first and then get Umino here. He's never been able to resist a desert made by Makoto. We'll be discrete and learn of Sakurada and why she boarded babies." Sometimes you had to love the way that woman thought. "Now stop badgering me so I can get dressed! I will not be late to my appointment in the attic."

I left as quickly as I had come. I had lingered once, early on it our professional relationship. Though she swears she abhors violence, that day Setsuna did violence that swelled and throbbed. Since then, when it came to changing I was out the door and down the hall by the count of three. 

It didn't take much to get Umino down for a nice private chat. Though he truly was a junkie when it came to Makoto's cooking, I suspected that he had ulterior plans for wanting to talk to Setsuna and I. Fair enough. We needed whatever he had on Sakurada-san while we supplied him with a simple white lie.

"So what's with the ad for the buttons?" 

Setsuna looked up from her brule over to me with that 'You take care of this, Haruka' look that I had come to hate.

"Just an ad. So what of Sakurada-san? I mean what happened to her?"

Umino gave me a long hard look. "Police got a report of a woman laying unconscious on a fire escape. When the police came around they found that the woman, Sakurada Haruna, had been strangled. There was also a mark around her neck. Something that looked like a black star." He licked his spoon and glared at me. "Just an ad? Who puts out ads for horsehair buttons?"

"Sakurada Haruna? She sounds familiar. What was it that she did? It involved children."

"She was a teacher, junior high. She finally cracked and took up to her cabin away from teenagers. What about the buttons?"

Setsuna was watching me from under her lashes. She got a perverse pleasure from watching me pull excuses from thin air. 

"Setsuna needed them. And she just stayed up there for no apparent reason besides getting away from teenagers?"

"If you saw the kids today and had to press something informative into their thick skulls you'd go bonkers too. And no, she went up there after she took some night school classes to become a nurse. Now what about those buttons?"

"Setsuna needed them for her girdle. Nursing, huh?"

Umino grimaced. "Yeah you kinda need one when you run a boarding house." Coke bottle lenses focused on the genius "You? What for?"

Her mouth was about to go into action and I couldn't have that. No, I would have to step in on this one. "Girdle. It's for her girdle." Fire leapt from her eyes to mine. "The laces aren't strong enough to hold her in, if you know what I mean. Hey now, you wouldn't say that she boarded illegitimate children?"

It wasn't enough that I had said it but the fact that Umino gave her an inspecting glance before turning back to me. What upset her most was that he didn't argue about it.

"Yeah she might have. Hey why are you so curious about the murder of a junior high teacher?"

"Just making pleasant conversation. Do you know of who her last tenant might be?"

Umino shrugged. "Just that it was a girl about a month old when she had it and oh, she called her Kuroko-chan." Wiry brown knit down as he thought. "What's the connection?"

I had been tapping the spoon on my back molars when Umino posed that question. Hotaru was about the right age for that little girl. "There's no connection."

"No there has to be. I know you Tenoh. You two put an ad out in the paper for horsehair buttons and now you're asking about the Sakurada woman. What's the scoop?"

"There is no scoop. Really Umino if I thought that you would think me of such a cruel thing I never would have invited you over for desert. Can't I ask you questions about you're top story?" I decided getting huffy would work. Nothing made Umino so uncomfortable as having a woman (no matter how masculine looking) getting huffy with him. "I try to be a friend and this is the thanks that I get."

Umino began to sweat. This was how arguments between he and Naru started. "No, no. That's not what I meant."

"You only come around when you think we have something for that paper of yours. I can see who my real friends are. You're nothing but a glory seeking news hound." I stood and so did he. He made kicking him out all too easy." But hey that's all right. You've made me out to be an insensitive bastard. I'll get over it and I'm sure you will too. Until then I think you should leave." I had all but pushed him to the door as he gathered his hat and coat.

"Really, Haruka. I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that you and Setsuna have this thing with keeping the news bottled up. Then you give me stories that you claimed to never have had in the first place. What's a guy to do? I gotta paper to run."

I opened the door as any gracious host would. "It's not a problem, Umino. If you see a pattern why are you fighting it? If I have something I'll call you."

"Promise?"

"Of course."

He didn't believe me. He'd be a fool to think so. I slipped him a handshake to show that by the end of the night our friendship would be saved. I made sure Umino wasn't going to go around to listen in from the back door, then I returned to the dining room and a glowering Setsuna.

"So," I skipped back to my seat. "Sakurada-san was a nurse and a little girl she called Kuroko-chan. What are the odds?" Setsuna just looked at me. "Do you want me to go and see Kaiou-san? Setsuna?"

Her dark lips twitched. "A girdle? A girdle! What made you say I need a girdle?"

I had punctured her feminine pride. "It was the first thing I thought of."

"Are you saying that I have gained weight?"

"No. I'm just saying that Umino has a girlfriend and would know better than to press the issue. Whether you need one is not the point."

"Whether I need one? Do I look like I need one?" 

"No. No. You're missing the point. I had to choose something that he wouldn't ask about twice. A girdle for you was it." I pulled my most charming of smiles. "You know Aphrodite had a girdle. It made anyone who saw it fall in love with her instantly. Setsuna," I whispered in her ear, "show me your girdle."

"Haruka," she growled. "Get out of here before I remind myself that I saved your life."

Not one to differ, I grabbed my coat and hat from the rack. "Well I'm off my darling! Kiss the kiddies for me. I don't know when I shall return!"

"GO!"

I decided that before I went and gave Kaiou-san the bad news I'd figure out just how close the police were to my trail. I remembered Minako-chan's phone number in my wallet. It took little to convince her to meet me again at the eatery, this time she arrived before I did. It also seemed that the police had hauled her before me too. 

"You're not a button collector. You're Tenoh Haruka, Meiou-san's lackey." Looked like Inspector Hino had filled her in on my modeus operandi. 

"Lackey? Lackey! Whatever happened to the titles like assistant, hireling, helper, domestic, there's a whole list of words to better describe what I do but lackey? That's is just obtuse. But you didn't come down here to hear about my sibling rivalry with Hino. Are you mad at me?"

Minako shook her head and batted her eyelashes. "No. How could I be?" Her countenance changed to that of a lost child. "You didn't kill my Aunt Haruna. You're not the person who did that to her."

"I am sorry about your Aunt." 

"I want the person who did that to her to suffer. Does that make me a bad person?"

I took her hand in my own. "Never. I want the person who did that to her to suffer too. Then again I'm not the sort that you would draw a comparison from. But I will tell you this: they will be caught."

"Are you and Meiou-san going to find them?"

I couldn't give too much away to her, even if it might balm the wound. "Let's just say that what we're doing will be beneficial to all involved. When the time comes we might need you again. Will you help us?"

She looked into my eyes and I could have melted in them. Such trust. "If it helps get my Aunt's murderer, I'll be there."

"You're very brave. I'm glad you're on our side." I sat and placed a kiss on her hand. "We'll keep in touch, Minako-chan. You can trust me." I left paying the tab. 

I got up to the Kaiou mansion a little after seven. Kaori-san didn't look too pleased to see me but she's never pleased. Tall, dark and gloomy led me to a small room where Kaiou-san sat behind a desk going through piles of letters, frowning. 

"Excuse me, Kaiou-san. Tenoh Haruka is here to see you again." She put a lot of emphasis on 'again'. 

Kaiou-san smiled, her eyes lighting up as she came to greet me. She stopped when I made no move to meet her half way. 

"What happened?"

"We found the woman who had Hotaru after she was born."

"Yes?"

"She must have found that we were onto her and went to the person who left Hotaru on your doorstep."

"Has she left the state? If money is an issue I can…"

"She's not out of state, Kaiou-san. She's dead."

Her legs trembled. She reached out to balance herself against the desk. Once she gained composure she looked at me and gave me half a smile. Out of concern for her I had taken three long strides to safeguard her without my noticing. Gods she smelled good. 

"Dead? The one woman who knew who my baby's mother was is dead?"

"I'm afraid so, Kaiou-san."

She was thinking. The blue orbs closed for a moment before they locked in on me. "Could the police tie this back to me?"

"If they ask the right people and the right questions they will know that we are working for you."

"Do you honestly think that this woman knew who left Hotaru here?"

"As far as we know this woman, Sakurada Haruna, had no other enemies. She might have told them that I came by and in a panic they killed her. There is always the option that she had enemies."

"What if it was the mother? I don't want a mother like that around the baby." Kaiou-san shook her head. "No I need to know. Would Meiou-san be able to find both the mother and the killer?"

I smiled. She didn't need any persuasion. It had been my intent to go over and make certain that Kaiou-san didn't drop us from the case. She would never know how much lighter my heart got at that moment. She must have because she closed the distance between us. 

"Could you do both? Could you make sure that I don't get involved with the police? What I don't need are more paparazzi following me around with a murder case."

"Come by the office tomorrow. Setsuna will figure something out."

Relieved her body relaxed a bit. "What time?"

"How about 2 o'clock in the afternoon?"

"Wonderful."

I bowed and was about to take my leave when a gentle hand fell on my arm. My mouth went dry as I found myself sinking into her.

"Yes, Kaiou-san?"

"Michiru." A pink tip of her tongue licked pink lips. "You have yet to call me Michiru."

"Not if you're not a client." 

"You drive hard bargains, Haruka. Now say it."

What can I say? I dig authoritative women. "Michiru." 

"Much better." Her smile was more than worth the small sacrifice. "I will see you at 2 o'clock."

"Only if you don't skip our engagement."

"Oh, I won't." She looked me over a couple of times before returning to my face. "Good night, Haruka."

"Upon the morrow, Michiru."

I left the mansion on my own without the help of the ice queen. In that brief interview with Kaiou-san I no longer wanted to go back to the brownstone, but to remain there outside the mansion in the garden singing bad love ballads. I had been once by the love bug with disastrous results, I could not afford for it to bite me again. 

The gods must have heard me. When I walked into the foyer all I could hear were the raised voices of my Setsuna and a very belligerent Inspector Hino. 

"Tell me who you're trying to hide!" Hino screamed. 

"I will not! I stand mute! My client has the right to remain anonymous!"

"You will tell me!"

"I will not. I would rather live on the streets in rags than give up the confidence of my client!" 

Setsuna was putting on one hell of a show. Undoubtedly she had heard the door of the roadster and went for Hino's jugular. Hino Rei may be a good head shorter than anyone in the house except for Ami-chan but her temper flared up over the roof. The woman loved getting into a verbal bashing regardless of the consequences. 

"Rags? I would pay to see you in rags! You a martyr! HA! Just try it Meiou! I dare you!"

If Setsuna thought I was insolent I just became a cherub in the hierarchy. I stepped into the office just in time to intercept the dare before Setsuna decided to take the little spark plug up on it. 

"Tenoh! You're under arrest!"

"You're beautiful when you're inflamed with a sense of justice." I held out my arms for her to cuff me with. "Consider me your willing slave of love."

Hino shivered. "I don't want your love. I want information. Come on, Tenoh. Down town."

"Don't wait up for me, honey! It'll be a long night at the office! But beware, Hino's playing secretary." That got me a cuff upside the head.

"Shut up, Tenoh or else I'll add charges of assaulting an officer to withholding evidence!" 

Kumada pulled up the cruiser and once again I found myself traveling back seat to the station. 

They didn't keep me long. Just from eight o'clock to ten o'clock the next morning. Hino and I had run circles around each other. After a while one of Setsuna's many lawyers came to my rescue and sprung me. Sure they had my prints but Aunt Haruna did make horsehair buttons. I wonder what Setsuna would say if I told her that Inspector Hino seemed intrigued by her girdle.


	7. The News Spreads

****

VII

"Are you hungry?"

"Sure. Unless you decided to cook." I had planned on going up to my room and passing out into a dreamless sleep but food like Makoto's could hardly be passed up for sleep.

"No." Setsuna had been reading something on quantum physics. She slapped the book shut and followed me into the kitchen. Offering me the chance at a meal was her way of getting information out of me. No sooner had I sat down at the counter top and Makoto set a plate of blueberry pancakes in front of me that she barked, "Report!"

And report I did. It was the usual stuff. What Hino thought I knew, what she thought she knew and the endless run around games that we played. When I had finished my cakes I leaned back and massaged my stomach. 

"Satisfactory. Hino is no closer than we are. There is still time."

"Time to do what?"

Garnet eyes sparkled. "To find the mother and the killer, of course! Oh and did you forget to mention something the other day?"

"Mention?"

"For instance did you forget to tell me that Kaiou-san is coming over at two o'clock this afternoon is discuss the case?"

"Forgive me. I was incarcerated. I was a little concerned as to how I would detour the police from finding out who our client is."

"At least you have your priorities straight." I didn't know if it was meant to be an insult or praise. "Go get cleaned up and rested. Call Kaiou-san and have her come to the back door. Hino may have a temper that limits her sight but she is no fool. She has had this place watched. If Kaiou-san wishes to remain anonymous it would be in her favor if she were not seen coming and going so often."

"Aye, aye chief!" 

True to her word Kaiou-san…er, Michiru showed up right at two in a very nondescript car at the back door. She wore a simple skirt and jacket in a light lavender. A pancake hat aslant on her waves of hair. She was stunning. It hurt to breathe around her. Damn I was hit and falling badly.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting, Meiou-san."

Setsuna shook her head with a slight smile, which was something for Setsuna. "No you are right on time, Kaiou-san."

"Ara, but a good guest shows up early and does the waiting not the host," corrected Michiru. 

Pleased Setsuna directed for Michiru to take the center chair while we took positions at our desks. There was one way to stay on Setsuna's good side. Always arrive on time. The genius was a time freak. She once had me timed for getting ready, eating and getting into the office just so she knew how much longer she could dawdle. Knowing this there were times when I would show up seconds late just to spite her. 

"Now to the point of our meeting. Haruka-"

Setsuna shot me that look that suggested that I had taken certain liberties with our client. Let her think that. I knew the truth and once Setsuna got to know Michiru better she would see that the elite socialite was out of my league. 

"-Informed me yesterday that there was a chance that the murderer and the person who left Hotaru to me might be one in the same. If that is the case I want you to find them. I am certain that the relatives of Sakurada-san want the murderer to be found as well. I came here to inform you that money is no object, that I want to see this through to the end."

"Even if the police come knocking?" asked Setsuna.

"Let them come. I can use my name to keep them at bay while you work. I have several houses in the countryside. I can simply avoid them while you work."

"You do realize this will cost a great deal of money."

Michiru chuckled. "What good is having all of the money in the world if you can't use it to do what you want with it. I trust in yours and Haruka's ability." 

A jangle from the other room announced Makoto coming in with the teacart. The brunette smiled at Michiru glad to see her back, handing her a hot cup of tea first then another to Setsuna. She pushed the cart the extra three feet to give me my coffee, which I had been rather demanding of since I hadn't had a decent night's sleep yet. 

"So you leave it to us, no matter what the cost?"

Michiru nodded. "Yes. This is delicious tea by the way. Is this the Stone Mountain blend from India? A very rare exotic blend. You must be blessed."

Ooh Michiru was winning points on all sides with Setsuna. First being on time and then complementing on her tea. She had already won points for her fashion. Now if she had a capacity for science I would have to fight Setsuna for her. Then again it was so seldom that Setsuna took interest in anything outside those fields that if she pressed I might just have to yield for my boss' pleasure and continuing employment. 

"Why thank you. It is one of my favorite blends. I find that the Ceylon blends with the –"

I cleared my throat bringing both women up from what would be a very boring conversation, at least for Mako-chan and myself. 

Setsuna blushed. "My apologizes. Perhaps we should find a more proper time to discuss tea blends."

"You are correct." Michiru gave me a slight smile that did not go unnoticed by Makoto. "I am willing to pay whatever it takes to keep this under the hat and I want you to find the murderer."

"That may be Kaiou-san but first let me pose this question: Where were you this last Friday between the hours of eight and eleven that evening?"

Blue eyes went wide with shock. If she hadn't been brought up in the crux of high society she would have spit that expensive tea all over Setsuna's desk and Setsuna. Good up bringing could stem off some baser instincts it seemed. However, Michiru had to wipe what little tea escaped with a napkin Makoto had kindly provided. 

"But that's the hours that – that-"

Setsuna rose a well-arched eyebrow. "That Sakurada-san was killed in. Give or take a few hours. I put it past no one to do murder. I have been in this business for many years, Haruka as well. Murder takes many forms."

"I can tell you that murder did not take this form." Michiru was collected. The shock had come and rolled off her. "I had a concert that night. You can ask the conductor, the ticket box even. I was told that the show was sold out with a great deal of encores. If I had the time I would have been too exhausted to chose someone."

"I believe you. Believe me, Kaiou-san I do not like accusing others but it is a part of what I do. I can trust no one until the murderer is found."

"I only hope that I can earn your trust." Michiru stood and offered her hand to Setsuna. "I apologize for leaving so suddenly but I have pressing engagement with my manager. He's not keen on taking Hotaru-chan on tour with me. I might lessen my appeal, or so he says."

Setsuna rose as well and took the pale hand. "A pleasure, Kaiou-san. I shall do my best to make sure that we find the mother and the murderer in due time but it may not always be smooth."

"Oh I do not expect miracles, Meiou-san. Just weekly up dates." Michiru cast me a sly glance that sent shivers up and down my spine. "I will be sure to see you soon, Haruka? I want to know just what my money is going for." 

It took me a moment to find my voice. "You can count on it, Michiru."

Her smile shone brighter than the sun when she remembered a small piece of blue-green paper that she handed to me. With a wink she allowed herself to be led to the back door. 

"Exchanging notes to our client now are we, Haruka?"

Gods did she have to sound so damn superior? I opened to note expecting everything from the key to the mansion to a line that read 'just teasing.' Instead it was memo. In neat curling script it read:

__

Memorandum

Haruka. Call me Michiru

"Well what does it say?"

I laughed, tucking the note into my breast pocket. "I am afraid, oh great commander, that this is a note of a more personal nature and does not pertain to the case."

"If it involves the client it pertains to the case. Dammit Haruka! What does it say?"

"Say please."

Setsuna rolled her eyes. "Oh never mind." She slid out of her chair for the attic. 

"Oh sweetness! I think of you everyday. Your eyes haunt me, shining like glittering jewels – "

"Haruka."

"Hmm?"

"Shut. Up."

"But this is magic. Pure unbridled magical passion."

The elevator grate slammed hard. "SHUT UP!"

"You know you really shouldn't tease her like that," Makoto whispered. "One of these days you're going to cause her to snap."

I turned to look at Makoto. She was dusting. Makoto doesn't dust. It was hen that I noticed a sly hand trying to reach into my pockets. "Really, Mako-chan. If you want to touch me, you only have to ask."

"I – I don't know what you're talking about." Her face a beet red Makoto scuttled to the kitchen, leaving the feather duster on the bookshelf. 

At last the I could get some sleep without any interruptions. If I was lucky a succulent aqua hair heiress would replace all thoughts of sugar plum fairies. 


End file.
